James O'Brien

Hockey Daily Dose

Vlad the Improver

Now, not every mode is as should-be obvious as picking up a talented rookie on one of the NHL’s best teams who is tied for the league lead in points.

Take, for instance, Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris. The relocated Phoenix Coyotes first-rounder already has three goals this season after scoring two on Monday. So, should you give him a shot?

I lean slightly toward trying him out - as long as it doesn’t cost you waiver priority, which is actually pretty precious right now.

One thing I really like: Turris is firing shots on goal like a guy who is very confident. He has eight SOG in the early going, so it’s not like he’s just getting lucky. There’s no way his 37.5 shooting percentage will sustain itself, but he’s on an Ottawa team that could very well be a strong offensive presence.

Still, keep your expectations in check. His trade from Phoenix actually provides a rare sample size that matches this season because he played 49 games for Ottawa in 2011-12. Here’s what he did:

49 GP, 12 goals, 29 points, +12 rating, 27 PIM and 133 SOG.

You’d like to see better numbers from a forward in this shortened season, especially since he’s unlikely to put up stellar peripherals. If nothing else, monitor his promising progress.

UNDER 50

Alex Tanguay (15 percent) - How much do you expect for Jarome Iginla? That’s really the question you should ask in regard to Tanguay, his regular running mate with the Flames.

If you’re big on Iggy - and there’s some reason to feel that way because he’s in a contract year and isn’t as old as you think at age 35 - then Tanguay is an intriguing pickup. He’s consistently been a strong assist guy, but he’s playing center quite a bit so far.

I wouldn’t nab Tanguay as a LW, but if he gets C/LW designation then he becomes awfully enticing. He’s not a great peripheral guy, mind you, but riding shotgun with Iggy is appealing. Watch list him at minimum.

Damien Brunner (19 percent) - Like Tanguay, multi-position potential puts Brunner higher on my radar than he would normally be. In his case, Yahoo already lists him as a C/RW, so there isn’t the guesswork involved with Tanguay.

Brunner will be on some peoples’ minds because of his absolutely brilliant shootout goal. That’s probably unfair to the matured 26-year-old product considering his situation.

In case you missed it, Brunner is running shotgun with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in Detroit. That hasn’t shown with his goose eggs in goals and assists, but he’s had his chances; Brunner already has nine shots on goal so far.

Honestly, I wouldn’t bring Brunner into the mix until he starts producing. Still, he’s given us all reason to pay attention.

Ben Scrivens (3 percent) - Look, it’s great for Scrivens that he played in Toronto’s first two games. Maybe he even is beating out James Reimer. His .929 save percentage shows that he earned the chance.

Even so, I’d advise against adding Scrivens. He’s on an average-at-best squad with a still fairly low percentage shot at besting Reimer long term. There’s also the undeniable possibility that Roberto Luongo gets traded to the Buds, possibly pushing Scrivens into the minors or street clothes.

Note: This column is to some extent a long way of saying pick up Vladimir Tarasenko right now, so do that first and then come back and read the Daily Dose. If he’s somehow still available.

On Monday, I pleaded with you to practice patience with fantasy hockey opening weekends. Some might say that I’m contradicting myself when I say that it’s just as important to strike while the iron is hot.

Perhaps a little context is needed. To give you a little insight into the importance of having the right mix of improvisational killer instinct and zen-like calm, I’ll provide you with two examples that are near and dear to my fantasy sports heart.

The first is an example of springing to action like a rattlesnake. (Well, if a rattlesnake logs onto Yahoo and makes a move that nets you a future Maurice Richard Trophy winner.)

FLASHBACK TO 2005

On November 30, the Boston Bruins made the hilariously foolish decision to trade Joe Thornton for tiddlywinks. (Hindsight historians will say this opened up the opportunity to sign Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara in the future, but that misses the point. The real breakthrough was that the trade was so bad that management changed into Peter Chiarelli’s superior hands.)

Anyway, when Thornton was moved to San Jose, I rubbed my hands together feverishly - like some Montgomery Burns-like evil business owner. Still, I didn’t decide to jump on Jonathan Cheechoo until he scored the first of two goals on Dec. 2, 2005 in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. (Note: it actually might have been his two-point game against the Atlanta Thrashers on Dec. 6 of that same year.)

Thanks to the convenient timing of Thornton’s trade, you can see how Cheechoo’s numbers exploded from December and on:

October: six goals and 12 points in 12 gamesNovember: one goal and three points in 12 gamesWith Thornton that season: 49 goals and 78 points in 58 games!

Now, it’s true that Cheech’s numbers never approached those levels again, but that doesn’t mean it was a mere fluke to pick him up when he exploded. He actually had 28 goals the season before - and some great playoff moments - so his breakthrough wasn’t outrageous.

Overall, though, it says this: if you have room on your roster to pick up The Next Big Thing, do it. Worst case scenario, you can drop The Next Big Thing for Whoever is on the Waiver Wire and at least know you gave it a shot.

FLASHBACK TO 2011-12

Still, I feel the need to recommend keeping a cool head, but perhaps I wasn’t specific enough. Let’s call it the Albert Pujols example.

Last year, I was at a festive little patio bar when a pair of friends discussed trades in a baseball league. Now, I’m nowhere near as knowledgeable about hardball as I am about hockey. (Example: I find it sad that David Wells isn’t a Hall of Famer. After all, he pitched a perfect game while hungover.)

Anyway, I was/am much bigger friends with one of the people who were feverishly debating trade options. The Superior Friend was being offered Albert Pujols, who was in the midst of struggling in new Anaheim environs. Long story short, I helped facilitate the trade that sent Pujols to Superior Friend for minor pieces. Pujols ended up helping said Superior Friend make the playoffs.

The lesson - and there is one, I promise - is that it’s important to gamble in the right areas. Consider this an incredibly rough chart for decision making:

Again, consider that an undeniably crude outline, but think about it: you thought longest and hardest about the picks you made to kick things off. Those early picks molded your team into the bunch it is.

Later on in the draft, you were drunker or more distracted or merely a little fatigued. There’s nothing wrong with disrespecting the dart throws you made when everyone was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Oh, and seriously, just pick up Tarasenko already. Just do it. DO IT. If he’s a flash in the pan, I promise to do my best to find you someone who’s more stable and probably less exciting …

After the jump: debating players less obvious than Tarasenko.

TANTALIZING TURRIS

Now, not every mode is as should-be obvious as picking up a talented rookie on one of the NHL’s best teams who is tied for the league lead in points.

Take, for instance, Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris. The relocated Phoenix Coyotes first-rounder already has three goals this season after scoring two on Monday. So, should you give him a shot?

I lean slightly toward trying him out - as long as it doesn’t cost you waiver priority, which is actually pretty precious right now.

One thing I really like: Turris is firing shots on goal like a guy who is very confident. He has eight SOG in the early going, so it’s not like he’s just getting lucky. There’s no way his 37.5 shooting percentage will sustain itself, but he’s on an Ottawa team that could very well be a strong offensive presence.

Still, keep your expectations in check. His trade from Phoenix actually provides a rare sample size that matches this season because he played 49 games for Ottawa in 2011-12. Here’s what he did:

49 GP, 12 goals, 29 points, +12 rating, 27 PIM and 133 SOG.

You’d like to see better numbers from a forward in this shortened season, especially since he’s unlikely to put up stellar peripherals. If nothing else, monitor his promising progress.

UNDER 50

Alex Tanguay (15 percent) - How much do you expect for Jarome Iginla? That’s really the question you should ask in regard to Tanguay, his regular running mate with the Flames.

If you’re big on Iggy - and there’s some reason to feel that way because he’s in a contract year and isn’t as old as you think at age 35 - then Tanguay is an intriguing pickup. He’s consistently been a strong assist guy, but he’s playing center quite a bit so far.

I wouldn’t nab Tanguay as a LW, but if he gets C/LW designation then he becomes awfully enticing. He’s not a great peripheral guy, mind you, but riding shotgun with Iggy is appealing. Watch list him at minimum.

Damien Brunner (19 percent) - Like Tanguay, multi-position potential puts Brunner higher on my radar than he would normally be. In his case, Yahoo already lists him as a C/RW, so there isn’t the guesswork involved with Tanguay.

Brunner will be on some peoples’ minds because of his absolutely brilliant shootout goal. That’s probably unfair to the matured 26-year-old product considering his situation.

In case you missed it, Brunner is running shotgun with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in Detroit. That hasn’t shown with his goose eggs in goals and assists, but he’s had his chances; Brunner already has nine shots on goal so far.

Honestly, I wouldn’t bring Brunner into the mix until he starts producing. Still, he’s given us all reason to pay attention.

Ben Scrivens (3 percent) - Look, it’s great for Scrivens that he played in Toronto’s first two games. Maybe he even is beating out James Reimer. His .929 save percentage shows that he earned the chance.

Even so, I’d advise against adding Scrivens. He’s on an average-at-best squad with a still fairly low percentage shot at besting Reimer long term. There’s also the undeniable possibility that Roberto Luongo gets traded to the Buds, possibly pushing Scrivens into the minors or street clothes.